First One

Hi Guys, welcome to the first of my many blogs.

To begin with I thought I might share some 'stuff' with you guys -  a little insight if you will, into the Life of Brian!!! To let you all know a little more about me, my journey, REX, training and a whole host of other 'stuff.'

At no point do I claim to know all, or claim to be an expert on anything. This blog is based solely on my experiences and opinions as an athlete, coach, dad, husband........and as such I hope you read it with that in mind.

As you are aware, myself and Sam have had REX for just under 6 years. Raw Edge Fitness was the brain child of my wife. Sam comes up with all the good ideas.....well that's what we think at the time......... I'm not saying that REX wasn't a good idea, but I think if we knew what we were getting ourselves into, we may have re-thought the concept.

The journey that is REX has definitely had its highs and lows. From something that was started so I had somewhere to train, to a thriving CrossFit gym that has some of the most experienced and knowledgeable coaches, as well as producing some awesome athletes, what can I say. There have been a lot of people who have walked through the doors of the three premises we have operated out of at some point.  Not all have jumped on the CrossFit train, but a large number have and these people have experienced a training methodology that can only be described as an experience!!

Personally I have always taken great pleasure in watching REX athletes progress and achieve what previously may have been considered out of reach or the impossible. I have never been one to worry about winning, losing or where you end up on the leader board. Sure its great to do well and have the occasional good showing but for me it is about people enjoying the experience and achieving.  

The sport has definitely progressed since we first began. Lets be honest, it is not just a training methodology anymore, it is a multi million dollar business that rivals a lot of competitive sports. With that comes professional athletes, sponsorship and competitions that attract full time sportsmen and woman, but that's a whole other blog!

Anyway back to the humble beginnings of REX.
Back in 2009, this thing that is CrossFit was only a baby. There were only a handful of affiliates in Perth who were all trying to establish themselves as CrossFit was still relatively unknown. At this time I had been involved in the sport for around two years. A good friend of mine, Dan O'CONNOR introduced me to CrossFit while we were working in Kalgoorlie. We trained at the local 'globo gym' and pretty much at that time were doing the same sort of stuff as anyone who trains at these establishments.

This involved, bench, deads, smith machine squats....yep that's right I was one of those people!!, bi's, tri's, forearm's and whatever else got us stronger and bigger. At the time I was close to 100kg, a fairly solid fellow, who was more interested in getting big. My lifestyle was healthy, but I did enjoy a social outing or two (Sam may say two or more A WEEK!!) and given the way I was raised, I lived hard, trained hard and enjoyed life.

So anyway Dan one day introduces me to mainsite  (CrossFit.com) and asks me if I wanted to try something different. I said sure thing, not really knowing what I was getting myself into. We tried a few 'WODS' and they usually left me on my arse, but at that point we really didn't know or appreciate what we were doing. A lot of the movements were unfamiliar to us and we either had to google them or just cuff it. Probably not the best introduction, but an interesting one anyway.

Around this time we were also training for our work, so the CrossFit WODs fitted nicely into what we were trying to achieve.

After leaving Kalgoorlie, I went back to some traditional training, bi's, tri's, you know what I mean!!! It wasn't until I hooked up with the brother in law that we kicked CrossFit back into gear.

Lendyl (brother in law) has always had that natural ability to do things without much effort or training at all. I still remember the first time he did a muscle up. We had only just been introduced to the movement and while I was flopping around on the rings with no idea, Lendyl jumps on and busts out a strict muscle up. At the time I thought...'the prick,' but soon learned that if he was challenged to do something, he could do it and did easily! This wasn't just the gymnastic stuff. He had the natural strength as well. Power to weight ratio was phenomenal!!

So we started out, firstly training in my garage and then doing the odd session with Jas PELHAM at CrossFit Perth. We got a little more organised and picked up a few things from Jas, who had established the 3rd CrossFit box in Perth.

It was then that my wife suggested the idea of starting something up ourselves. Initially it was started as a Bootcamp but it soon became clear that CrossFit was the way to go. 

In the process of establishing what is now REX, we discussed the work involved and what we required. I sought some advice from Jas DONALDSON from The CELL CrossFit, as at the time he was in the same job as me and someone who I knew was very knowledgeable in the area, having started the first Affiliate. He gave me some good advice on how to get the business up and running and what qualifications were necessary within the industry. Good advice that I took on board.

Then there was the question of the name. This again was the brain child of Sam. I was hopeless in this area, whereas Sam just came out with the idea easy as!! Raw Edge Fitness was born......